The extent and the pace to which plasticity and adaptation interact during ectotherm thermal evolution are unclear. We exposed the invasive arboviral vector Aedes albopictus to thermal experimental evolution for three years. Within 10-15 generations, mosquitoes exhibited major changes in fitness, metabolism and transcriptome, marking the consolidation of a temperature-dependent trade-off between reproduction and lifespan. Most phenotypic and gene expression changes reverted to control levels when thermal selection was relaxed, demonstrating a predominant plastic response after prolonged evolution. Also, 250 genes displayed an opposite association in expression changes in warm- versus relaxed-evolved mosquitoes, consistent with selection operating on a polygenic architecture. Ecological modelling identified egg-to-adult viability as the primary driver of thermal reproductive success, highlighting juvenile stages as a crucial control target under continued warming.
Evidence of thermal selection from experimental evolution in the arboviral vector Aedes albopictus
TL;DR
The extent and the pace to which plasticity and adaptation interact during ectotherm thermal evolution are unclear. We exposed the invasive arboviral vector Aedes albopictus to thermal experimental evolution for three years. Within 10-15 generations, mosquitoes exhibited major changes in fitness, metabolism and transcriptome, marking the consolidation of a temperature-dependent trade-off between reproduction and lifespan. Most phenotypic and gene expression changes reverted to control levels whe
Credibility Assessment
Preliminary — 39/100
Study Design
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5/20
Sample Size
Whether the study was sufficiently powered
7/20
Peer Review
Review status and journal reputation
4/20
Replication
Has this finding been independently reproduced?
6/20
Transparency
Funding disclosure and data availability
17/20
Overall
Sum of all five dimensions
39/100
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